Grisly North Carolina Car Accident Collision Leads to Two Fatalities
A tragic North Carolina car accident has shaken residents of Nash County. Last Tuesday night, on US Highway 64 near Frazier Road, a 1989 Honda collided head first with a 2000 Chevrolet, killing the driver of the Honda (a 34-year-old man whose name has not been released) and as well as a 17-year-old girl who had been riding in the backseat of the Chevrolet.
Both drivers had been drinking, according to Highway Patrol sources. The 34-year-old man was driving the wrong way, and “beer cans could be seen on the floor of his car, along with a malt beverage behind the steering wheel.” The 17-year-old passenger who died, Brianna McLaughlin, was not wearing a seatbelt. The other two passengers had been wearing seatbelts and survived.
As of this report, the driver, Paige Toelke, was listed in critical condition in the hospital; the other passenger, Leigh Bulluck, was listed in fair condition. This horrific disaster highlights multiple lessons. First, it reinforces the idea that driving DUI is a potentially fatal act. Second, it reinforces the point that while accidents can randomly strike, certain times are more dangerous than others to drive. The 4th of July weekend, for instance, is always a notorious time for DUI driving.
Finally, the accident suggests that our current system for dissuading people from taking crazy risks (like driving DUI and driving the wrong way on roads like I-64) may not be working. Policymakers may need to go back to the drawing board and pen more immediate, testable, and successful strategies for preventing similar accidents from taking yet more lives.
If someone you care about has been hurt or killed in a car, truck, motorcycle, or bus crash, connect with a North Carolina motor vehicle accident law firm.
More Web Resources:
US Highway 64 near Frazier Road accident
beer cans could be seen on the floor of his car
